In case you have not seen this invitation yet, the College and Career Readiness and Success Center (CCRS) at American Institutes for Research (AIR) is hosting the above-referenced Webinar on Wednesday, December 13, 2017, 1:00–2:15 p.m. ET. Our office has helped to conceptualize and fund the resources that will be shared during the Webinar.

Please click here for a full description of the Webinar and to register for the event.

The U.S. Department of Education (ED) supports initiatives that are based on evidence, focused on outcomes and improve education for students at all ages, including early childhood, elementary and secondary education, career and technical education, adult education, and post-secondary education. Pay for Success (PFS) is one of several strategies that ED can use to promote evidence-based policy. It is an innovative financing model that tests and advances promising and proven interventions, while providing taxpayer (or other) dollars only for successful outcomes for students, families, communities, States, and regions.

Today, the Department released a feasibility toolkit to provide State and local leaders with general information on PFS, as well as important elements to consider in the feasibility phase (the first of 3 phases) of a PFS project.

I am pleased to share word that our Consolidated Annual Report (CAR) forms pursuant to the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins IV) has received Information Clearance (IC) approval from the Office of Management and Budget (OMB). This new IC is approved for a three-year period until October 2020.

Accordingly, attached is a program memo detailing the opening of the CAR reporting window on October 23, 2017. State's CAR submissions are due by close of business on December 31, 2017.

As always, if you have questions regarding the CAR, please feel free to reach out to Sharon Head at Sharon.Head@ed.gov or your Perkins Regional Accountability Specialist.

Thank you in advance your efforts to provide information and data on your State's progress in implementing its CTE programs and services.

On October 12, the U.S. Department of Education (Department) released the Secretary's proposed priorities for competitive grant programs and launched a 30-day public comment period. Once the Department considers the comments received and issues the Secretary’s final priorities, the Secretary may choose to use one or more of them in competitions for new discretionary grant awards this year and in future years. These priorities align with the vision set forth by the Secretary in support of high-quality educational opportunities for students of all ages.

The proposed priorities are:

Empowering Families to Choose a High-Quality Education that Meets Their Child’s Unique Needs

Promoting Innovation and Efficiency, Streamlining Education with an Increased Focus on Improving Student Outcomes, and Providing Increased Value to Students and Taxpayers

Fostering Flexible and Affordable Paths to Obtaining Knowledge and Skills

Fostering Knowledge and Promoting the Development of Skills that Prepare Students to be Informed, Thoughtful, and Productive Individuals and Citizens

Meeting the Unique Needs of Students And Children, including those with Disabilities and/or with Unique Gifts and Talents

On behalf of the Division of Academic and Technical Education (DATE), I am pleased to announce five new grants totaling $4,046,951 that have been awarded under the High School Career and Technical Education Teacher Pathway Initiative (CTE-TPI). With valuable input from the CTE field, we recognized that consistent shortages of high school CTE teachers make it difficult to respond to student and community interest in creating or expanding CTE programs focused on in-demand industry sectors and occupations in States and communities where such shortages exist. CTE-TPI provides funding for activities designed to increase the recruitment and retention of high school CTE teachers for CTE programs that align to in-demand industry sectors or occupations.

Out of 32 applications submitted, these five grant recipients received the highest ranking from panels composed of nonfederal peer reviewers with expertise in CTE, the alignment of secondary or postsecondary CTE programs to address labor market needs, teacher certification, and teacher preparation and support.

Each CTE-TPI grant recipient has been awarded a single grant for a three-year project period. CTE-TPI is funded by the Carl D. Perkins Career and Technical Education Act of 2006 (Perkins IV).

It is my pleasure to invite you to a webinar on the customized technical assistance (TA) we offer to States each year. During this webinar, you will learn about the application process and resources for TA from staff in our office and our contractors at RTI International, as well as hear from three of the 30 states that have received TA to date.

Welcome to the Perkins Collaborative Resource Network!

The Office of Career, Technical, and Adult Education (OCTAE) has redesigned the Perkins Collaborative Resource Network to enhance its usability for education professionals.

We welcome feedback about this website. If you have comments, questions, or suggestions about how the organization of the information found here can be improved even more, please send an email to perkins-help@rti.org.